The keeping of bees has become increasingly popular over the last several years. With both hobby and commercial keeping, maintaining long lasting and effective equipment such as bee boxes, box tops, box bottoms, and the like, can be problematic. Many bee keepers claim that bees prefer, and thus thrive in wooden hives, compared to hives made from other materials, but wood does not typically do well when exposed to the elements. Paints and varnishes can be used to ameliorate this issue to some degree, but repainting becomes an extra duty that detracts from actual bee keeping duties. Alternatively, there are bee box designs prepared entirely from synthetic polymers. However, such materials do not seem to be as desirable to many bee colonies.
There are many different types of hives that are known, but there are two that are the most popular in modern use. By far, the most common modern hive is the Langstroth hive. The Langstroth hive comprises standardized sizes of rectangular boxes with interchangeable internal frames that are hung in parallel. These boxes can be stacked to expand the usable space for the bees. Box tops and bottoms can also be used, and typically have openings for bee access. Another type of modern hive that is still relatively common is the top-bar hive. This type of hive includes a top-bar to support the comb. Both of these types of hives are convenient because they both provide a means of inspect the hive for diseases or parasites. Movable and interchangeable parts also permit the beekeeper to more easily split the hive to make new colonies, as well as harvest the hive without significantly damaging the equipment, though there are limits to this.
Even with the convenience and effectiveness of these modern hives, it would be desirable to provide a hive that is both desirable to the bees, as well as provide bee boxes, tops, and bottoms that are long lasting, strong, and easily reusable while, minimizing damage to the equipment during normal usage.